When I was growing up, I would always hear these words…..Be quiet…..Listen…..Don’t cry…..Have no fear…..Don’t worry…..It was as if everyone wanted me to be a robot. I get it. Being robotic brings many beneficial things, like efficiency, discipline, and the ability to perfect technical things that can be achieved through repetition. But I’m human. We are human. It is emotion that allows us to experience the full gamut of life. It is emotion that allows us to access realms of our brain that no robot can. It is emotion that allows us to feel, for better or for worse. Last night, I was both happy and sad when I watched Larry Nance Jr. get his first start for the Cavs.

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TOV

3PT

FG

FT

22

15

1

2

0

0

0/1

9/15

4/5

He played 32 minutes, but it could have been a bigger night. Unfortunately, the Cavs blew out the Pistons, 112-90. I’ve been wanting to see Nance play the small ball 5 for both the Lakers and the Cavs. He can shoot from the perimeter J, grab boards, and play D. His basketball IQ is high, he’s unselfish, and he plays his ass off. He is fleet of foot, able to switch multiple positions on D, and has the hops of a flea. A little undersized, but he makes up for it with all the things I just listed. As a Lakers fan, I was happy to see him ball out because he showed that ability in Los Angeles. As a Lakers fan, I was also sad because he is now in Cleveland. Now, Tristan Thompson did not play due to injury, but how can the Cavs not go with Nance going forward? UPDATE: Mr. Kardashian is out for 2 weeks. Anyways, there’s a perfect song from back in the day that filled me up with emotion and made me bob my head and made me wanna dance. Enjoy. Both the song and fantasy production that Nance will deliver.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

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Rudy has been hard at work in the lab. His latest creation? DAILY LINEUPS PAGE. So good. So smooth. So helpful. He decided to go with the Sonny Bono red tint, while I prefer the blue tint. What say you?

Got the start at small forward and played 30 minutes. Brings some street cred to the Cavs. The D stats are nice, but not something you should count on. If he starts and gets the minutes, Hood is always a threat to go for 30 on any given night.

Played 32 minutes off the bench. I was surprised that Larkin got the start over Rozier. It’s tough to glean any information from last night’s game due to the blowout. Regardless, when a member of the Celtics backcourt goes down, it looks like Rozier assumes the microwave role.

Played 33 minutes. Has averaged close to 35 minutes a game the last five games, as the Grizzlies have been decimated by injuries. Green has now posted six straight double-dubs, with some 3&D stats. Straight cash homie.

Played 32 minutes and did well against one of, if not, the best defenders in Rudy Gobert. I am absolutely smitten with Vucevic’s game. Can score, shoot the 3, grab boards, dish out dimes, get his block and 211 on, and convert from the charity stripe. Too bad he missed a bunch of time due to injury. For the year, he’s a top 20 player for fantasy. He’s going to be an interesting one to rank in the offseason.

Played 18 minutes. Since returning from injury, Isaac has logged 18, 18, and 15 minutes. The offensive game is raw, ODB style, but the D stats. Oh, the D stats. I’m not a big Isaac guy, but it’s nice to see him getting some run. No value in redraft, but someone to monitor for dynasty.

Played 38 minutes. The usage has gone down since Ruby returned, but Jingles is still getting the minutes and contributing in the periphery categories. When he gets the shot attempts, ceiling games are within reach. I won’t be surprised if he starts posting some triple-dubs in the not so distant future.

Played 31 minutes. “Honey, why do you keep playing Dragan?,” asks Mrs. Triano. “Well, management wants us to lose, so I can think of no better way of guaranteeing that than playing him. Plus, it gives me an excuse to head to the bar for a nightly Bender.”

And the Heat still won by 22 points. I have no recollection of this, but apparently Babbitt was getting 25 minutes of run a game back in November. Ha! And I thought Spoelstra was just like, “So, you wanna tank? Cool. Babbitt! Get in there and jack up as many shots as your little heart desires.”

Played 20 minutes. Doesn’t get too much run, around the 21-23 mpg range, but can drain 3s, get some boards, and dish out some dimes. I’m not versed enough in the Kelly O rules to know exactly when to play him, though.

It was the Suns. Now, justice usually prevails in life. Unfortunately, either his parents spelled his name incorrectly or a mistake was made at the hospital, so no justice here. Only Justise, which equates to fantasy doo doo.

I mentioned in yesterday’s recap that the Plumlees must have a powerful prayer group. Well, I assume that the Bogdanovics have a much more sizeable crew, as both Bojan and Bogdan have been balling the F out lately.

Got the start at small forward, as Brandon Ingram was out, and played 38 minutes. The shooting hasn’t been lights out, but at least the Kuz is contributing in the periphery categories. Love seeing that.

Played 30 minutes off the bench. Talk about a microwave. 21 shot attempts! Luke essentially went with an eight man rotation last night. IT is getting minutes, shot attempts, and feasting on second units.

@miles proudfoot: I think you have to go Gay and Hill off the bat, since both have 4 games. The last spot is between Valentine and Jaylen. Tough one, as both have good matchups. I’d probably go with Valentine, since the Bulls play at a faster pace

One of the spots is Kawhi, who I think at this point is simply a drop. Collison and Ingram I’m holding for now and hoping for the best. Can’t see having any injured players taking up a spot in the playoffs.

I had responded earlier in the season to the Kawhi commenter saying it just seems like more injuries this season, every season it always seems like more. I’m completely conceding, he was right! This is just terrible haha.

So I’m thinking of dropping Satoransky, who is getting very limited usage, and Powell, whose failing to put up D-stats and whose FT is cratering. I only have 10 adds left for the season, playoffs included, so I can’t just pick up the flavor of the moment. The following players are all available. Who are my replacements?